Interview: Ahmed Salim – Initiator of FeedKe

QUICK BIO:

A well known Social Entrepreneur based in Nairobi, Kenya. Ahmed Salim is the founder of Fluid Tees, a T-Shirt brand riding high on Twitter and Facebook marketing. He is also a social activist well known for his involvement in United Kenya (during the referendum), Kenya ni Yetu (for the constitution), Kenya Feb28 (singing of the national anthem), Pamoja (showing unity and joining together in prayers for Japan earthquake victims) and now the ongoing #FeedKe.

Other than these social endeavors, Ahmed is an accomplished marketer of repute, working as a lead marketer at a Nairobi agency. His candid demeanor and charisma are just a few attributes that endeavor him to many. I’m honored to have him on this interview. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Read Ahmed Salim's note Kenyans, Let's RISE together after his visit in Turkana

Q. Welcome Ahmed. How and When did the FeedKe idea come to you?

Ahmed:  Thank you Evans. *FeedKe was very random.  It wasn’t planned at all. I woke up on the 19^th July and what I saw or heard the previous night was still in me. I asked Kenyans can’t we do something ourselves? And to my surprise, it was just like people were waiting to be told what to do. I got questions like: What do you have in mind? How can we help? We’re in, tell us… and that is when FeedKe was born. In a span of 45 min all was up and running.

In Search of a New ‘High’

The year is growing older and by now we have adjusted to its routine; what others refer to as ‘Order of the day’. Work, School… etc. Hate it or love it, this can be quite monotonous. We all need something to break the monotony. A way to unwind and something to look forward to other than the long holidays.

To many, this could be a night out over the weekend but I have fallen victim of this being droning too. Occasional drinking has appeared random also. I find myself having an awesome time with friends, catching up, laughing and by midnight I hit the sac. This is unlike a few years ago when I’d see the sun setting while heading out to the rave, party all night and see it rise the following morning.

The Bachelor Pad/Man Cave

I recently read an article on the Eagle. It is one of the most outstanding animals on earth. It builds its nest on a rocky cliff using thorns, twigs and feathers. After its eaglets hatch, it slowly removes the padding of feathers and twigs until the grown chic cannot stand the thorns and finally learn how to fly.

We live in one, we’ve visited some and crushed in others…Let’s share about the bachelor pad.

It’s a Mantuary. I feel every man needs a place to retreat and kick back every once in a while. A lot of activities go on in the pad; from watching sports, playing video games and being on auto pilot lol.

I think this is a stage not to be missed by twenty-somethings. We can relate to the eagle and learn that our parents need us to be out there and be somebody. Move out! Hell Brad Pitt purchased a $1.13million bachelor pad recently (research has it that pads help sort out marriage issues too!)

The Relationship’s Magnifying Glass

Last evening I honored an invitation to my friend’s wedding reception. It was beautiful; the joy, the music, the food, happy times! They were happy together and made their December plans come true by tying the knot.

This got me wondering how long it takes for two twenty-somethings to make the statement almost every couple made at some point, ‘’We want to get married because we are in love, and we are committed to start fresh from here on. We’ve agreed we are not bringing our past into it – any past relationships, neither past hurt nor past interferences. It’s just me and him, we aren’t bringing any of that into our present.’’

My Job versus My Passion

Last week I was watching a Chris Rock special and in between cracking my ribs, a line he said just stuck, “Some people have Jobs, some people have careers’’.

This has got me thinking about jobs, careers, businesses, entrepreneurship and the like. We have been brought up with the assumption that immediately after graduating it’s time to go out and get a job. Is that true? Here’s what I deduced;

Whenever you get a job, you are trading your time for money to generate income. That means getting a job only pays you when you are working. How does it sound if you would still get paid 24/7 even when you are not working? Don’t your plants grow whether or not you are tending to them? Why not your bank account!? Getting employed brain washes people. Employers buy your time and you have a contract telling you what to do and basically who to be. If you were to pay for this article, would you pay me double if you knew it took me an hour to write it instead of 30min? The key is to identify your value for your time.

My New, Bold New Year’s Resolution

The end of last year had all the elements of the holiday coming together quite nicely; Travelling, Family Gatherings, having your favorite meals… until the clock  struck midnight for the final time of the year. We raised the glasses of champagne to the New Year and planted a big, wet kiss on the person you hold dearest.

Now all the smoke has cleared.

New Year, New Beginnings, New Opportunities. You have to wake up from your drunken New Year Eve stupor and Get Serious. It’s time to reflect and do some serious soul searching. It’s time to do some serious looking into the mirror; it’s time to enhance your New Year’s resolution. Find that one thing about yourself that you would like to improve. Maybe it’s that project that you have been putting off that you will finally finish. This could also be the year you finally learn a new skill.

Universe, Eclipse, Life

How much do you trust in the universe?

In a couple of hours the world will witness the longest Annular Solar Eclipse of the 21^st Century. This will be a historic event. It made me remember of an inspirational movie I had watched, The Secret. Some of us have read the book. It talks about the power of positive thinking to attain good health, wealth, love and happiness. The Law of attraction in the Universe.

What fascinates me is the concept of positive thinking and the ability to attract what you intend. The author’s explanation is that the universe responds to our thoughts. The Law of Attraction can be a very powerful tool in someone’s life and the key is to be as specific as possible. Act with intention and ask the universe. Think positive thoughts and let us do this in the once-in-a-century event and sync our minds. Throw away the negative talk and focus on the positive thoughts. Let this day go into our diaries and live to speak of it.

My Third Place

In the marketing field, there’s a saying that goes, ‘’everyone has their third place.’’ I would like to relate that to my day to day life and tag the Third Place as that place you go to, other that Work and Home. The place you go for fun and leisure.

To some the third place could be a sports club, a poetry club, a religious centre, a coffee shop but I would like to relate this Blog to a place I am aspiring to make as my Third Place, the Gym. I have been composing myself for far too long to run a blog and just like the gym, I want to build on something. Every sweat I break will be towards making an achievement. I know this will be an interesting journey.

The gym requires the observation of three important things:

• Perfection: I have this as my second post and I am aiming to build an archive that will be resourceful for generations to come. Truth is, perfection can never be reached. It’s all a matter of achieving and resetting goals. Set new goals, achieve them, reset, and repeat… there is no finish line.
• Success: As the old saying goes, it’s only in the dictionary that Work comes after Success. For someone to succeed, you must put in a lot of effort and commitment. The first week of hitting the gym will make me adopt a new walking style but success is not something you wait for. You have to hunt it. Roll up your sleeves and work hard towards something.
• Planning: Failing to plan is planning to fail. I have outlines a few categories in which my posts will be derived from. Just like in the Gym, I have planned why I am here, how long it will take me to succeed and what I am going to accomplish.

So, what is your third place? Where do you go when you leave home and work? What have you learnt from your Third Place and from the people there? How do you apply that to your day to day life? Share below.

Welcome To The Blog

Welcome to Self Definition. There is no other stage in life known to have the thirst for knowledge and information as the twenty something does. For this reason, I will bring you my take on any issue that pops into my head. I hope you will enjoy reading the blog as much as I will enjoy writing it. If you do please help by spreading the word.